One Old Memory
by acantabloom
Summary: It's a hot summer day, and Fuji wonders what would happen if he and Tezuka played a match. TezukaFuji.


**A/N: Here is another bit of TezukaFuji fluff. It's a companion piece to Two First Kisses, although they aren't too connected plotwise. I'm not sure if this one comes before or after chronologically, but it is also set in the summer of their second year. I would like to dedicate this to everyone who reviewed Two First Kisses, and I hope you enjoy this as well.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

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After finishing his own practice match, Fuji sat on a hill and watched Eiji play a game with Oishi. They were both trying hard, of course, but they didn't seem particularly serious. Eiji laughed every time he won a point. "I will defeat you, Oishi," he shouted. When he lost, he pouted and waved his arms wildly, but didn't seem very upset. Oishi, too, was grinning broadly, and didn't seem to know whether to encourage Eiji or himself. 

"Fuji," Tezuka said, coming up behind him. He handed Fuji a bottle of water. "You don't drink enough on hot days like this."

Fuji chugged half of it, appreciating that it was still cold. He hated lukewarm water. Then, he offered the bottle back to Tezuka. Tezuka shook his head, indicating that he was fully hydrated.

"Your body isn't just a machine, you know," Fuji said. He opened the water again, and tipped it over Tezuka's head. "I don't think you have enough water fights on hot days like this." Quickly, before Tezuka could retaliate—although he probably wouldn't—Fuji dumped the rest of the cold water on himself, gasping slightly as it trickled down his neck.

Tezuka shook his head, and sat down beside Fuji to watch the match. He didn't even seem annoyed. Fuji supposed that it was hot enough he wouldn't mind.

"I see you're struck dumb by my savage attack," Fuji said. "Or maybe it just wasn't enough to inspire a reaction…Never mind!" he added quickly, as Tezuka glared at him.

"I'm a little jealous, perhaps," he said, after a few minutes. "They're having a lot of fun down there."

"They will be a strong doubles combination," Tezuka replied. "Some are already calling them the 'Golden Pair'."

"What kind of doubles pair do you think we would be?" Fuji asked.

"Terrible," Tezuka said at once.

Fuji laughed.

"There is a 90 chance that Tezuka-Fuji pair would be completely incompatible," he said, pushing an imaginary pair of glasses up his nose, "And a 10 chance that they would be amazing. Oishi and Eiji have very different styles, but they combine well. We, on the other hand…" Were he and Tezuka too different to play together, or too similar? They were both perfectionists, and they both possessed pinpoint precision, but their attitudes were probably not compatible. Tezuka's intensity and Fuji's games…it wouldn't be possible to have both at once. On the other hand, Tezuka was the only person who seemed to naturally understand Fuji's play, which made them ideal partners, in a way. It was a hopeless conundrum, and one that wasn't likely to be unraveled.

Oishi ended the game with a perfectly placed Moon Volley. Eiji leapt over the net, grabbed his shirt, and began shaking him. Oishi said something, and Eiji jumped into the air clapping his hands.

"Probably the loser is being treated to ice cream," Fuji commented. "Yes, they do have a good combination, on and off the courts."

"You're wondering what would happen if we played a match, aren't you Fuji?" Tezuka asked suddenly.

"Am I that easy to read?" Fuji said. It was frightening, sometimes, how Tezuka seemed to guess his thoughts.

"That time last year is a very unhappy memory for me," he said. "I've always wondered what would happen if we played each other again." It had become such a large, unspoken thing between them, the wondering. "Sometimes I like it, and sometimes I hate it. " Things would change, and Fuji didn't know how, or if it would be for the better. Why weren't they like the Golden Pair, who could play each other every week, constantly testing their strength against each other?

Tezuka nodded.

"In a game," he said, "You have to be prepared to lose or win. But sometimes I think that for us, every day and every conversation is a game. A game that is only a game, and nothing more." He reached out and placed a hand on the back of Fuji's neck. His palm was warm, and oddly soothing. They sat like that for a moment, before Fuji reached back and grasped Tezuka's wrist.

"Do you want ice cream?" Tezuka asked. "All the practice matches are over, and I can leave."

"Does that mean I'm the loser today?" Fuji laughed. "How about a tie? You buy me ice cream, and I'll buy some for you."

"If I let you pick my ice cream, It will be I who loses," Tezuka protested.

And so they would follow Oishi and Eiji to the ice cream store, and then perhaps they would go to Tezuka's house, or the library to do their homework. Fuji was glad that there were many things they could do, other than play a match. Perhaps it was inevitable that they would play each other one day, but on a beautiful day like this, how could he dwell on the future or the past?

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


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